Home is where the dog is
In my position as Professor of Health Sciences at a university in Northern Ireland, I teach two courses, Human Health and Animal Health. The Human Health course has a large health and social care component and at regular times throughout the year I have to visit students in residential homes. Animal Health focuses on the health of animals and also their behavior.
When I visit with students, it is usually to assess how they are settling in at home and interacting with clients. A few weeks ago I visited a house in a middle class residential suburb of Belfast, this house was new to my list and I hadn’t visited it before. It was a very attractive red-brick Georgian house tucked away in a side street off a busy highway.
Each house has its own atmosphere and when I entered this one I immediately felt different. I really couldn’t figure out why until I knocked on the Manager’s door and walked into her office. There on the rug in front of me was a 6 inch tall feline monster arching its back and hissing, inflated to three times its size and quite hilarious on display!
“Oh never mind Molly,” says the manager, “she’s one of our residents’ new kitties and a bit of a wild one.”
At that moment Molly shot across the floor, jumped onto the seat, from the seat to the table and behind the curtains.
Wonderful I thought of a residential house that has a pet!
It doesn’t look like a pet, as I saw several pairs of eyes fixed on me from different corners of the room. The cages were on the floor against the wall, and each cage had its own blanket and water bowl.
I couldn’t believe my luck to come across this house and this amazing woman who could see the benefits of having a pet for her residents. A lady who also went against the current.
With around 140,000 people a year in the UK being forced to give up their pets and 40,000 pets a year being put to sleep by their owners going into care homes, having pets in care is a rare occurrence.
Actually, it is a fact in which I am fully called.
For many seniors, a dog or cat is what makes up their home. Your pet is more than a pet, it is your friend, a family member and a companion that is always there. Your pet is often a reason to get up in the morning and for many it can become their whole life. In addition to lowering blood pressure and promoting exercise, they also promote a sense of well-being that comes from loving and being loved in return. Dogs help people by listening to them, giving them affection, and being a distraction.
So it’s heartbreaking to learn that in the UK the majority of older people entering homes not only have to give up their homes and their freedom, but also their pets. So why, if the health benefits of pet ownership are known, are nursing homes not allowing pets?
It boils down to concerns about illness and litigation if injuries or illnesses occurred as a result of contact with animals. Researching this problem in my post at university, I found that this is unsubstantiated and, in fact, in the small percentage of households that allow dogs there have been little to no problems. In fact, by allowing pets in the home, tremendous benefits are passed on to residents, creating a positive atmosphere in the home and increased social interaction between staff and residents.
Growing old should focus on what a person can still do, not what they can’t. It should focus on what an older person can keep and for many of them it is their pet.
Here in the UK we are known as an animal loving nation, we care and spend a lot of money on our pets. Isn’t it time we started demanding that we keep them?
Look at other countries and you will find many that allow pets in homes. Countries such as France, Spain, Greece, and the US have recognized the benefits of having a pet and have enacted laws demonstrating the rights of older people to keep their pets in sheltered or public housing. They have recognized that it becomes crucial for older people to maintain as much normalcy and stability as possible. Your pet is your family and surely, given the benefits of this relationship, we could facilitate and support these relationships.
Take, for example, an Arizona housing complex manager who went so far as to actively encourage residents to adopt pets. He even took them to the nearest animal shelter himself. A win-win situation for the shelter and home residents and perhaps a possible way out for all those abandoned animals looking for a home?
